McClatchy documents a
flurry of all-cash sales that Donald Trump made directly to oligarchs,
mobsters, and Putin-allies in Russian and former Soviet states while the
real estate market was in freefall. That includes deals for people who
were heavily involved in the Russian-invaded territory of Crimea. These
cash-up-front transactions aren’t a sideline for Trump. They are the
core of his business.

“The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.” Gary Kasparov

12 Russians accused of hacking Democrats in 2016 US election

WASHINGTON
(AP) — Twelve Russian military intelligence officers hacked into the
Clinton presidential campaign and Democratic Party, releasing tens of
thousands of stolen communications, in a sweeping effort by a foreign
government to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election, according to a grand
jury indictment announced days before President Donald Trump's summit
with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The
indictment stands as the clearest Justice Department allegation yet of
Russian efforts to interfere, through illegal hacking, in the U.S.
presidential election before Americans went to the polls — and the first
to implicate the Russian government directly. It had been sought by
special counsel Robert Mueller.

but but but...

according to Trump

there was no interference on the part of the Russians

Republican/Russian/election stories coming out today

TOO numerous for me to mention

no wonder the Republicans and Trump have so viciously smeared Mueller and did everything they could to shut him down

if I was GUILTY,I would be doing exactly the same thing

and in other news

Wilbur Ross,Trumps handpicked Sec of Commerce

now being implicated in "ethical lapses" and insider trading,which has involved filing FALSE paperwork with the FEDS

Roger Stone,sleazeball adviser to Trump also being implicated with the Russians directly

like I said

way too many stories of corruption on the part of Trump to even begin to list

“The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.” Gary Kasparov

Don't you guys find it awfully suspicious, that this happens the day after certain people investigating him in the FBI looked really bad in front of congress and the day before meeting Putin? Yea nobody has an agenda there. <sigh>

These indictments are JOKES! You can not hold a Russian national functioning in Russia accountable to US laws. Dues Mueller think he has international jurisdiction?

I still think the best evidence suggests that the DNC hack wasn't a hack at all. It was an inside job by a courageous whistleblower. We even have people who have "confessed". That being said I will actually listen to what Muller has to say if he has anything.

Yes suspicious! Then again, Comey (a Republican) launched a far
less believable anti-Hilary investigation's findings just before the
election. That was even more so.

So, is the system totally corrupt or fine? It does not work one way only.

The
truth will out - eventually. It always does. What worries me is, with
Trump's media control games, will it come out anytime during his
presidency, and if it does how few of his supporters will believe it?

3, Belief that whatever emerges, Trump will find a way to either spin or hide it.

I
have no way of knowing the reason, legitimate or otherwise. It could
be something I have not even thought of, or even something else of
national security status also stored there (Hilary's staff were a bit
lax on such things after all). Given my previous question, I guess it
to be no. 2, but I am just guessing.

Whatever
the reason, supoena them! the same mantra I applied to Trump applies
to them as well: "Dirty deeds are done in the dark!" So turn the bloody
light on!

In painstaking detail, Robert Mueller's special counsel team laid out what it alleges was a concerted effort by the Russian military to hack the Democratic National Committee and senior-level Clinton campaign officials and disseminate private documents in order to disrupt and influence the 2016 US presidential election.

The Russians also attempted to infiltrate local election systems and software, although Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says that there is no evidence that they "altered the vote count or changed any election result".

The Trump White House has picked up on this line, issuing a statement reiterating that there have been no allegations of "knowing involvement by anyone on the campaign" or that the hacking "affected the election result".

That isn't what Mr Rosenstein and the special counsel's court filings concluded, however. The deputy attorney general said it was "not our responsibility" to assess to what extent Russian involvement influenced the 2016 election.

In fact, it is hard to deny that the hacks had a clear impact on US politics in 2016 - and exacted a heavy toll on Democrats and the Clinton campaign in particular.

As a result of the hacks, the head of the Democratic National Committee was forced from office on the eve of the party's national convention - a convention whose first few days were marred by protests from Bernie Sanders supporters angry about the contents of some of those Democratic National Committee emails.

John Podesta, the chair of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, had his personal correspondence exposed, including internal debates over political strategy, outlines of Mrs Clinton's greatest weaknesses and transcripts of her private speeches - excerpts of which were cited by Donald Trump in presidential debates and on the campaign stump.

Indeed, Mr Trump celebrated and amplified the revelations in the hacks, which were disseminated through DCLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 - both identified as fronts for Russian military intelligence - as well as Wikileaks, which is alluded to but not named in the Mueller indictment.

The hacks may not have changed the results of the 2016 election, but the effects were very real. It was as though a team's entire playbook was revealed just days before the Super Bowl. While the rules of football weren't changed and the scoreboard wasn't surreptitiously altered, that doesn't mean the outcome of the contest wasn't affected.

That, then, is the big picture revelation from Mr Mueller's most recent indictment - which comes in addition to the already announced indictments and plea agreements from 20 individuals and three Russian companies. The 29-page court filing contains a variety of other details and revelations that add to the growing picture of alleged Russian election meddling which the Mueller team is outlining.

'Russia, if you're listening…"

At a Florida press event on 27 July 2016, candidate Trump issued a now famous request.

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing," he said. "I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."

The line shocked many at the time and has been cited repeatedly since then as evidence that Mr Trump was actively encouraging Russian attempts to acquire and disseminate emails from Mrs Clinton and her team.

The 27 July date makes an appearance in Mr Mueller's most recent indictment document, as well.

"On or about July 27, 2016, the Conspirators attempted after hours to spearphish for the first time email accounts at a domain hosted by a third-party provider and used by Clinton's personal office," the court filing reads. "At or around the same time, they also targeted seventy-six email addresses at the domain for the Clinton campaign."

While this isn't the first time Russians allegedly targeted the Clinton team, after Mr Trump's remarks the hackers escalated their efforts.

"It seems clear that the indictment is trying to make the connection with language like 'after hours' and 'first time'," tweeted conservative commentator - and Trump critic - Ben Shapiro. "But even Trump publicly saying he wants the Russians to do something and them doing it isn't collusion in any real sense."

It is, however, an uncanny coincidence.

A political 'war map'

The indictment sheet also documents a number of interactions between Americans and Russian military operatives, although it stresses that there are no allegations that those Americans knew the true identity behind the internet aliases with whom they were corresponding.

A Florida blogger and state lobbyist - possibly Aaron Nevins - exchanged messages with Guccifer 2.0 and acquired a trove of documents Democrats had compiled outlining the weaknesses of the party's candidates running for congressional office in Florida.

Mr Nevins told the Wall Street Journal that he had told Guccifer 2.0 in an email: "Basically if this was a war, this is the map to where all the troops are deployed."

Guccifer 2.0 also sent documents to a reporter "pertaining to the Black Lives Matter" movement.

In another paragraph, Mr Mueller's team notes that a congressional candidate directly asked Guccifer 2.0 for stolen documents about his opponent - a request that the hacker accommodated.

A long-time Trump man in the spotlight - but not the charge sheet

The Mueller indictment mentions that Guccifer 2.0 had direct communications with a person "who was in regular contact with senior members of the presidential campaign of Donald J Trump".

It goes on to quote emails that match communications that Roger Stone, a Trump friend and acquaintance for decades, said he had with Guccifer 2.0 in August 2016.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

In those communications, Guccifer 2.0 asks Mr Stone to analyse some of his documents and offers to help the man who served as a Trump campaign aide early in his presidential bid.

"It is not inconceivable now that Mr Mueller and his team may seek to conjure up some extraneous crime pertaining to my business, or maybe not even pertaining to the 2016 election," he said. "I would chalk this up to an effort to silence me."

Mr Stone has denied that he had any knowing contact with Russian agents. That's an assertion that the Mueller team appears to have accepted - at least for now.

"It turns out it wasn't the Russians, it was this young guy who, I suspect, was disgusted by the corruption of the Democratic National Committee," Mr Gingrich said. "He's been killed, and apparently nothing serious has been done to investigate his murder."

It was a theory championed, as well, by conservative commentator and presidential confidante Sean Hannity - even though Washington, DC, police have concluded that the death was the result of a botched robbery.

Mr Trump himself has alluded to the conspiracy theories, frequently tweeting and wondering aloud why the Democratic National Committee did not allow federal investigators to conduct a forensic examination of the hacked email server.

Russia continues to say they had nothing to do with Meddling in our Election! Where is the DNC Server, and why didn’t Shady James Comey and the now disgraced FBI agents take and closely examine it? Why isn’t Hillary/Russia being looked at? So many questions, so much corruption!

Just over two weeks after his most recent tweet, the special counsel's office has pointed the finger of responsibility for the DNC hacks directly at the Russian military.

Given that Mr Trump was informed about the indictments earlier this week, but still referred to the Mueller investigation as a "witch hunt" in remarks on Friday, he probably will not tone down his criticisms of the probe or suggestions of Russian innocence - but perhaps he will no longer cite the DNC server hacks quite so frequently.

The stories you heard about the 12 Russians yesterday took place during the Obama Administration, not the Trump Administration. Why didn’t they do something about it, especially when it was reported that President Obama was informed by the FBI in September, before the Election?

"President Trump should absolutely cancel this meeting with Putin on Monday," said DNC chairman Tom Perez. "He is not a friend of the United States."

"President Trump should cancel his meeting with Vladimir Putin until Russia takes demonstrable and transparent steps to prove that they won't interfere in future elections," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Why is no one investigating Hillary for selling our uranium to Russia and her foundation getting millions. Oh, let's forget about that! She sold the United Sates down the road for her financial gain but none of you care about that!

One third of his soybean crop is destined for export. The soybean price had already been falling when China imposed its 25 per cent import tax — this week it hit a 10-year low.

"In short, it is going to impact my income and it's going to impact every farmer's income," Mr Kimberley said.

Mr Kimberley voted for Donald Trump. While he does not always like the way the President goes about governing, when it comes to the trade imbalance with China he believes something must be done.

"I'd say we're a very loyal and patriotic people out here in the Midwest and so yes I think we want to see this resolved but I think there are issues that need to be addressed and taken care of so that's what he's doing," Mr Kimberley says.

The Kimberleys have a unique connection with China — now President, Xi Jinping, visited the Kimberley farm in 2012. A photo of Mr Kimberley showing Mr Xi how to drive a John Deere tractor made the front pages of newspapers in both nations.

A working model of the Kimberley's farm is being built in Luanping County in the hope of transforming farming in the Asian nation.

Mr Kimberley knows as well as any politician what is at stake — for both sides.

"If this is long-term tariffs, it could be significant. We're hoping that cooler heads will work together and trade tariffs are not good for anyone — not the United States, not the farmers — but also not China and Chinese people," he says.

"It's going to cost them more to purchase soybeans and so their food costs are going to go higher."

Last week Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said trade talks with China had "broken down", which is not a good sign for Iowan farmers gearing up for a September harvest.

It is not just grain farmers who have been hit — Iowa is America's biggest pork producer.

In the last month, pig farmers have been hit with a 20 per cent tariff from Mexico and a 25 per cent tariff from China.

In Winthrop, just north of Cedar Rapids, Aaron and Trish Cook market about 30,000 pigs per year — one in four is exported. Their break-even price per head is $US140. The fourth-quarter price is now $US110.

Mr Cook says since the trade war began the price per head dropped by $US20 ($26.94).

"The tariffs have definitely scared the markets and the traders," Mr Cook told the ABC.

Time is of the essence for Donald Trump to resolve this trade dispute — farmers will start to feel the pinch in September or October, and in November voters will head to the polls for the mid-term elections.A Trump supporter, Mr Cook is backing the President's trade tactics, but there may come a time when his faith is tested.

"I think President Trump could really come out of this looking like a hero or it could be something that really dogs him in the future too," Mr Cook says.

"If all this was for nothing, it could be something that he has to deal with in a couple years when he goes for re-election."

A true diplomat might cancel his visit in protest. But Trump is no diplomat. Even when I agree with him, I am usually wincing because there are some things you can't say - even if true. (Rocket man, Brexit woes, sexual boasting)

As regards Obama, I am only surprised Trump has not blamed him for world hunger, Russian nuclear stockpiles, climate change and all the hurricanes. His hatred for his predecessor is not only unseemly and unfair, it is also glaringly obvious.

Don't you guys find it awfully suspicious, that this happens the day after certain people investigating him in the FBI looked really bad in front of congress and the day before meeting Putin? Yea nobody has an agenda there. <sigh>

Not really. Mueller is just applying pressure. Given that Trump has yet to agree to sit down with the special counsel, I don't think there's much else that he can do.

If there's nothing to see, why worry?

"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep""Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.

Why is no one investigating Hillary for selling our uranium to Russia and her foundation getting millions. Oh, let's forget about that! She sold the United Sates down the road for her financial gain but none of you care about that!

So give me a break!

They already investigated the heck out of Hillary and the uranium deal, FluMom, and nothing untoward was discovered.

not ok for Hillary to sell Uranium to Russia ,(which was actually a russian company operating a mine no uranium ever went to russia )

but OK for Russia to influence an American Election ,for their own gain ..........

this is what i dont get ,

the double standards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Germany and West Europe have been buying Russian gas since at least the Reagan years....I remember the controversy back then and had the same concerns, i.e the Soviets might turn the tap etc.

The Hillary connection with uranium mining was investigated to death, as were other "scandals" ie. Benghazi, emails etc. They show she is sneaky, calculating, secretive to a fault, but hasn't broken any laws.

Hillary was a deeply flawed candidate, but I didn't believe she was under Russia's spell (I bought into that argument long before the election, ie. Trump under Putin's thumb).

The only good news about Trump being elected is that he flushed the Clinton family out of US politics, hopefully forever.

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